The Compleat Angler
Izaak Walton
In May 1653, in the middle of the Commonwealth, the London ironmonger Izaak Walton published a small anonymous book on fishing: a dialogue in which Piscator, the angler, teaches Viator, a traveller, to fish along the river Lea, with songs, verses, milkmaids, inns and good ale on the way. The first edition, given here, is the shortest and freshest – thirteen chapters, two speakers, the book as Walton first imagined it – newly edited from the original, with the six woodcuts of fish, the title page, «The Anglers Song» by Henry Lawes in both parts, and registers of persons, books, places and old words. Edited by Bernhard Trebuch. Reading sample: the dedication, the address to the reader, the first chapter and the chapter on the trout, with the registers.
The complete book is available to members of Fra Bernardos Brevier, to read in the app and as an ePub for your e-reader.